How the APU transformed over five years
Five years have passed since the start of the so-called "anti-terrorist operation", and in fact, the war in the Donbass. During this time, “ATO” has overgrown with myths and legends, and Kiev is now positioning the Armed Forces of Ukraine as the strongest in Europe. Is it really?
Before Independence Square and the ensuing events, Nezalezhnaya did not actually have an army due to lack of need. But already in 2014, the total number of Ukrainian security forces in the Donbass was brought up to 50 thousand. Today, the size of the group, concentrated on the borders of the unrecognized Republics, is an impressive 100 thousand people, of which 70 thousand are on permanent duty.
Since the start of the confrontation in 2014, the Armed Forces of Ukraine have suffered a number of serious defeats. The most terrible losses were suffered during the so-called "boilers": Izvarinsky, Ilovaysky, Elenovsky and Debaltsevsky. Their main reason was the inept actions of the Ukrainian command and the low level of training of personnel. For example, the high concentration of troops in the Debaltsevsky direction of the Armed Forces was considered as an advantage, not a vulnerability, for which many Ukrainian soldiers paid with their lives.
The lack of real victories was compensated by propaganda, which created a cult of “cyborgs” from the Donetsk airport. Western colleagues also helped, having shot the pathos movie “Raid of the Unconquered” about monthly wanderings in the steppe of the 95th separate airmobile brigade.
However, negative experience is also a valuable experience. This is not to say that five years of war passed for the APU for nothing. Western experts trained Ukrainian soldiers how to throw a "flounder". Discipline and tactical training have grown. The military personnel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine acquired real combat experience, became "fired." Many years of anti-Russian propaganda, which gave motivation to fight many of those who did not have it, did their job.
However, not all lessons in Kiev have been adequately learned. Aviation in the Armed Forces is de facto absent, tank brigades exist only on paper, but in reality tanks are spread out by sector. Large military units are divided into company brigades, combat-ready on their own, but little managed together.
Last year, the American edition of Business Insider compiled its own rating of the strongest armies in Europe. The place in it was calculated based on the ratio of the military budget to the number of personnel, the number of aircraft, tanks and warships. Ukraine received a compliment, placing it in the tenth place of honor, and not the first, as Petro Poroshenko stated. The first place among the Americans was the well-known “aggressor”.
Before Independence Square and the ensuing events, Nezalezhnaya did not actually have an army due to lack of need. But already in 2014, the total number of Ukrainian security forces in the Donbass was brought up to 50 thousand. Today, the size of the group, concentrated on the borders of the unrecognized Republics, is an impressive 100 thousand people, of which 70 thousand are on permanent duty.
Since the start of the confrontation in 2014, the Armed Forces of Ukraine have suffered a number of serious defeats. The most terrible losses were suffered during the so-called "boilers": Izvarinsky, Ilovaysky, Elenovsky and Debaltsevsky. Their main reason was the inept actions of the Ukrainian command and the low level of training of personnel. For example, the high concentration of troops in the Debaltsevsky direction of the Armed Forces was considered as an advantage, not a vulnerability, for which many Ukrainian soldiers paid with their lives.
The lack of real victories was compensated by propaganda, which created a cult of “cyborgs” from the Donetsk airport. Western colleagues also helped, having shot the pathos movie “Raid of the Unconquered” about monthly wanderings in the steppe of the 95th separate airmobile brigade.
However, negative experience is also a valuable experience. This is not to say that five years of war passed for the APU for nothing. Western experts trained Ukrainian soldiers how to throw a "flounder". Discipline and tactical training have grown. The military personnel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine acquired real combat experience, became "fired." Many years of anti-Russian propaganda, which gave motivation to fight many of those who did not have it, did their job.
However, not all lessons in Kiev have been adequately learned. Aviation in the Armed Forces is de facto absent, tank brigades exist only on paper, but in reality tanks are spread out by sector. Large military units are divided into company brigades, combat-ready on their own, but little managed together.
Last year, the American edition of Business Insider compiled its own rating of the strongest armies in Europe. The place in it was calculated based on the ratio of the military budget to the number of personnel, the number of aircraft, tanks and warships. Ukraine received a compliment, placing it in the tenth place of honor, and not the first, as Petro Poroshenko stated. The first place among the Americans was the well-known “aggressor”.
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